UFC on ESPN 11 results: Raquel Pennington punishes Marion Reneau to win unanimous decision

After a lackluster outing against Holly Holm in her last fight, Raquel Pennington had something to prove at UFC on ESPN 11.

The former title contender definitely bounced back in a big way after punishing Marion Reneau with a devastating array of strikes to the head and body over three rounds to earn a unanimous decision win. The judges scored the fight 30-27, 29-28 and 29-28 with Pennington getting the victory.

“There’s nothing I could do but smile,” Pennington said after getting a win on the same night her fiancée Tecia Torres also picked up a unanimous decision victory.

It was a battle of attrition through nearly every minute of every round with Pennington and Reneau constantly jockeying for position.

As Reneau was pressing the action against the cage, Pennington was doing her best to break free to unleash her best strikes. Pennington finally found an opening when she started controlling Reneau’s head with a powerful Muay Thai clinch that allowed her to start firing shots from the inside.

Any time Pennington found the smallest window, she targeted the head and body with a barrage of knees. By the time the third round got underway, Reneau feverishly sought out a takedown only to eat more strikes from Pennington as she struggled to get away from that same clinch.

Pennington continued to pour on the offense with elbows to the head and knees to the body as she tried to get the knockout but Reneau managed to survive to the final horn.

Still, Pennington looked strong from beginning to end as she returns to the win column, while moving to 2-1 in her past three fights, as she continues her climb back up the bantamweight rankings.